What They Don't Understand
by Krillin Fan
Summary: Gohan is worried about his parents' relationship and Goku attempts to show him that some things are not always as they appear.


**What They Don't Understand**

_Hello, all! I'm back and I've decided to give another run at my second fav couple, namely Goku and Chi-Chi. This time, I shall be addressing the issue of their much maligned relationship as seen, or rather heard, through a conversation between father and son. I hope you enjoy this. I'd also like once again to dedicate this story to _**Kinoha **_for indirectly inspiring me to write this, as well as to all the G/CC fans out there that feel much the same as I do. Now, onto the story._

A young boy about the age of eight sat outside his home, running his fingers through his black hair that was finally starting to grow out of a rather unattractive bowl cut while listening to the voices of his parents coming from inside the house. They were fighting. Again. And his dad hadn't been home longer than a week.

Well, perhaps fighting wasn't the appropriate word; in all actuality, they were arguing. Once again, it was about him; his mother felt he was spending too much time training, not enough studying and his father was of the opinion that he was doing fine. Now, Gohan did have to admit that he'd been slacking on his particular end of their deal; he'd be allowed to train with Piccolo and his father, but only if he did a set amount of schoolwork per day. But, at the same time, he was YEARS ahead of anyone else his age. He could hold off on picking up a single book for the next four years and still be considered advanced for his age But, once again his mother had noted this fact and threatened to rescind their deal, and his dad had jumped in, saying that he was doing fine with what he had accomplished so far that week

Now, they were arguing again and he couldn't stand it.

Normally, this wouldn't have bothered him. Normally, he'd just shrug it off as his parents being… well, his parents. But now, after what the others had said, it worried him.

Not more than ten minutes ago, a group of kids about his age had passed through the area on a nature hike, part of some scouting organization or other. Gohan had relished the opportunity to talk to them; after all, his mom was always encouraging him to make some friends his own age, and though he considered Krillin and Piccolo to be very close, he had to admit it would be nice to hang out with someone his own age. Granted, Piccolo wasn't technically much older than he was, but still. Besides, playing catch or chasing butterflies wasn't exactly the large Namek's idea of fun.

Well, he'd finally had a chance to meet those kids and things had gotten off to a pretty good start, when the first shouts had come from inside the house. The result was the other children leaving quite quickly, but not before saying some things that worried him.

The house fell suddenly, quiet as Gohan began to dread what had occurred, when an entirely new sound began to come from the house, a sound that was of a different nature, but was still quite disturbing to his young mind. It never ceased to amaze him how his parents could go from fighting one minute to… to doing THAT the next. A disturbing thought indeed, but it did bring him a little comfort. It was certainly better than hearing those two fighting.

The noise was rather short-lived, as Goku soon came walking out the front door, that same dopey grin on his face as he called out at the top of his lungs, not realizing that his son was actually only a few feet away from the door.

"GOOOOHAAAN! DINNER"S ALMOST READY!"

The boy clamped his hands firmly over his ears and resisted the urge to jump out of his skin. One fact could not be denied, even by Vegeta: if nothing else, his father had the strongest set of LUNGS in the universe…

Gohan released his ears and looked up at his father. "Um, I'm right here, Dad."

Goku put his hand behind his head and laughed sheepishly. "Oh, yeah. Sorry about that. Well, c'mon, food's almost done." He waggled his eyebrows at him. "Mom made your favorite…"

Gohan just looked back down at the ground and began to trace light patterns in the dirt with his finger. "Yeah. I'll be there in a sec."

Goku's eyes widened a bit at that statement. Gohan, like him, had never been one to refuse a meal, especially when it was his favorite. It didn't take a genius, thank God, to know that something was wrong with the boy. He sat down next to him and placed a hand on his shoulder. "Hey, what's wrong?"

Gohan turned to look at his father, not quite sure where to begin. So many questions were running through his mind right now, he didn't know which to voice. Finally, he managed to come right out and ask. "Are you and Mom gonna… are you gonna get divorced?"

Goku's eyes flew open in shock. "What?! No! What in the world gave you that idea?!"

"Well, there were these kids that came this way earlier and they heard you two arguing. One of the girls asked me if you guys did that a lot because her parents used to do that before they got a divorce, a-and I'm worried that…" Gohan trailed off as he fought back the urge to cry.

Goku placed a hand over his face and sighed. He somehow knew this talk would come sooner or later, but not like this. "Gohan, your mother and I love each other very much. We're not gonna get a divorce."

"But…" Gohan became quiet again as his father held up a hand for silence.

"I know, it seems like we argue a lot, and we do. But that doesn't mean we don't love each other, and it certainly doesn't mean we don't love you. It's just…" he paused, looking for the right words. "It's just that, your Mom and I, well… we can be stubborn at times. And sometimes, when you have two stubborn people who have two different positions on a subject, they'll argue. But, nobody gets along all the time, Gohan. Heck, Bulma, Krillin, Yamcha and I practically grew up together, and we fought all the time! But, we're all still friends, aren't we?"

Gohan nodded and sniffled a little as his father continued. "And I know that a lot of the things we seem to disagree on revolve around you, but I want you to know it's not your fault, okay?"

He wrapped an arm around his son in a gentle hug. "Your mom and I both love you and want what's best for you. It's just that we disagree on how to go about that."

He smiled down at his son. "Mom just wants to make sure that you don't end up like me in the sense that, well, aside from fighting, I really don't have marketable skills. Granted, the way I was raised I didn't really have an opportunity for an edu- uh- education? Yeah, that's it. I kinda had an excuse, but there's a price to pay for that. Unless there's a tournament that's held somewhere, we don't really have an income. Fact is, we've actually had to live off Grandpa for a while now.

"But one day, you're gonna meet a girl…" Gohan made a face at that statement. Him, with a girl? Gross!

Goku smiled at his son's reaction. "Yeah, you might think that now, but one day you're gonna meet a girl and have a family of your own. Mom wants to make sure you can provide for them, and I agree with her. I do think she can be a little strict at times, but she's only doing it because she loves you."

Gohan then decided to ask his next question. "But, what about what people say about the way Mom acts? I mean, Vegeta says she's a crazy lady and stuff because she's always getting mad at us for doing what he says Saiyans are supposed to do..."

Goku winced, knowing full well what the 'and stuff' was that Gohan was referring to. Saying it to him was one thing, but to say it to Gohan…

"Look, Son, your mom only does that because she's worried about us."

Gohan looked confused. "But, Mom knows you're a Super Saiyan now. Why's she still worried?"

'Time for a history lesson,' Goku thought to himself as he searched his mind for the best possible answer. "Son, you know your Mom and I were only 17 when we were married, right?"

"Yeah…"

"And you remember what happened to me when the Saiyans showed up, don't you?"

Gohan remembered that painful experience all too well. "Yes…"

Goku looked down at his son, a tinge of sadness in his eyes. "Well, when that happened, your mom and I had only been together for five years. She was only 22 years old and she became a widow. That's not exactly pleasant. Before that, all we ever had to worry about was Piccolo, and he seemed to be too busy sulking to ever try to attack us again. Even if he did, he was nothing all of us put together couldn't handle if had doubled his power. So to your mom, losing me hadn't really been an issue. Then you came along and she just couldn't stop pining over you." He smiled at his son. "And I've got the baby pictures to prove it.

"Then the Saiyans arrive and suddenly, I'm dead and you're 'kidnapped' by the one she had always thought to be the greatest threat to her family. It wasn't easy on her, living here all alone. She couldn't really be visited by anyone, either, since they were busy preparing for Vegeta to arrive; Bulma came out when she could, though.

"Your mother pretty much lost us both for a full year, and the next time she saw us, we were almost dead again! If I were on the other end, I might get a little overprotective, too. She just wants to make sure we're both gonna stick around for a while."

Goku looked at Gohan and spoke the next words with all seriousness. "Son, I want you to know that you can't take everything Vegeta says seriously; he's just bitter. No matter what anyone says, to you, you should be proud to have her as a mother." He then seemed to switch topics. "Did you know that most men marry women like their mothers?" He scratched his head as he thought. "At least that's what Bulma spouted to us from her girly magazines that she always read on the island. We never really got the concept, since we never really got to know our parents. But, if my Mom was anything like Chi-Chi, then I'd say I was proud to have a mom who loved me that much."

Gohan looked at his father in a state of shock and awe. This was a side of him he'd never seen before. His grandiose thoughts were pushed aside, however, when he heard his father's stomach give a loud lurch.

Goku let out another laugh. "Wow, sounds like someone's getting impatient!" He stood up and offered his hand to Gohan. "C'mon, let's go get some food!"

He couldn't help but smile as he took his father's hand and pulled himself up off the ground. Sure, some people might think his parents seemed strange, but he knew better. They weren't really any different than anyone else; it was their circumstances that were different. It was a concept some people just didn't understand.

He was greeted upon entering the kitchen by a smile from his mother. "Well, it's about time you two got in here. I was about to go out and get you." She closed her eyes and her smile grew slightly. "Unfortunately, I had to pack your dinner up to take with you."

Gohan was slightly confused by that last statement. "Huh? Why'd you do that?"

"You're going to Grandpa's house for a few days, sweetie." She gave a sly smile to her husband. "It's that time of the month again."

Gohan regarded the way his parents looked at each other and remembered the noises coming from the house earlier that day as realization dawned on him. Without another word, he rushed up the stairs to grab his bag that he always kept packed for such a time as this.

'Then again,' he thought to himself, 'maybe there are some things about Mom and Dad that even I'M better off not knowing.'

_Well, that's it. I hope that maybe you can see exactly why things are the way they are in the Son household now. Thanks for your time, and I'll see you soon!_


End file.
